Dr Anke Marsh
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ankemarsh.bsky.social
Dr Anke Marsh
@ankemarsh.bsky.social
4.5K followers 3K following 2.5K posts
Palaeoecology, natural history, science, flora, fauna, microfossils. Researcher, writer, editor, photographer she/her

Also @lnhs.bsky.social for London based natural history
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ankemarsh.bsky.social
Today’s BotD theme is least - the bird you’ve got the least captures of. The alt is rainy day birds. I’m doing one of each. The first is the one and only shot of a hobby, the second is a lesser scaup at London Wetlands not bothered by the raindrops

#LondonBirds #BirdOfTheDay #Birds
A photograph of a hobby against a clear sky. It’s a smaller bird of prey with mottled black and white wing feathers and a white face with black markings. A photograph of a lesser scaup on the water. His chest, neck and face are black, he has some grey wing feathers and white flanks. His eyes are golden-orange and his beak a steel grey. There are rain drops landing on the lake and he’s got some water droplets on his head.
November 10, 2025 at 11:00 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
Thanks everyone for your lovely comments ❤️❤️ This is my mum, from about the Berlin time and more recently :)) Same haircut 🤣 (it did change in the intervening years, I promise!)
A black and white photo of my mum when she was in her early 20s, I think. She has a floral top or dress. She is facing the camera, tilting her head a bit, with a big smile. Her hair is chin length and blonde. I have a feeling it may be dyed as she has dark hair lol. Anyway, she looks beautiful! A photograph of my mum, now in her 80s. She is sitting in a wheelchair in front of one her many bookcases. She has a similar chin-length haircut but now her hair is darker with some grey. She is wearing a scarf and a grey cardigan. She is facing the camera with a small, slightly crooked smile. She is still beautiful.
November 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
I ❤️ London

#AutumnInLondon #London #CityScapes
A photo of St Paul’s dome peeking out over wharf side apartments on the Thames. A photo of Long Water at Hyde Park. This part is connected to the Serpentine. The water is very still and is reflecting the blue sky, clouds, and autumnal trees. A photograph shot from outside Buckingham palace. You can see the gold statue, various trees looking quite autumnal and Big Ben poking out in the distance. A photograph of Constitution Drive. A horse parade had been going through when there was a motorcade. All of the horses drew up onto the side as the cars drove past. One car had the Queen.
November 9, 2025 at 4:53 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
London from Battersea power station

#BlueskyArtShow #Evening
A photograph of the London cityscape at night. It was taken from the top of the Battersea Power station looking east. It shows the Thames in the middle, with some tall building in the distance. The whole area is lot up by buildings, houses, boats. All the lights from the city are lighting up the sky above.
November 9, 2025 at 12:46 AM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
This #HolidayRobin is giving serious side eye…

#Birds #LondonBirds #Robins #BirdPhotography
A photograph of a robin perched on a branch. He is facing forward but has his heads turned to the right. His belly is a light grey, the top of his head is grey-brown. His chest and face are a vivid orange.
November 9, 2025 at 12:30 AM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
I missed yesterday’s BotD from @robcrank68.bsky.social - birds fighting. So I’ll do it now :) a very mad mute swan chasing a Canada goose

#BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Wetlands
A photograph of a swan and two geese in a wetlands. One Canada goose is just sitting on the water, watching the action. The is a swan running on the water m, wings arched over its head. It is chasing a Canada goose who is half running, half flying away. Behind them is a reed bed.
November 8, 2025 at 11:57 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
BotD is takeoffs, alternative cityslickers (birds in an urban context). Today I’ve got a barn swallow taking off from the roof, a blue tit taking off from its nest and a starling at Borough Market, London (although all birds shot in London!)

#BirdOfTheDay #Birds #LondonBirds
A photo of a swallow diving down of the top of a roof. The building is a bronco on with roof tiles. The swallow is streamlined as it dives down. It is blue on top with blue wings, a white abdomen and some red under its head. A photograph of a blue tit exiting its tree hole nest. It’s a small hole in an oak. The blue tit is flying out, wings spread, legs still dangling. It has something in its mouth. It has a yellow belly, blue wings and top of head, white cheeks and black stripes across its eyes. A photograph of a starling sitting on a metal beam, high up near the roof. The beam is get and there is a white shelf behind with boxes. There is bird poop on the boxes. The staking is dark with lots of white dots. It’s looking to the right and a bit annoyed.
November 8, 2025 at 11:57 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
I missed yesterday’s BotD, which I think was a close up of a bird. So here’s a Harris hawk questioning his life choices.

#BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Raptors
A close up photo of a Harris hawk, just with its shoulders and head. He is leaning a bit back, looking into the distance, as if asking himself: how did I get into this mess?
November 6, 2025 at 9:41 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
BotD theme is lunchtime! I’ve posted this one before but today it’s perfect! 🤣

#BirdOfTheDay #Ducks #Wetlands #Birds #LondonBirds #BirdPhotography
A photograph of a tufted duck on a lake. The duck is mottled brown. He has a dark beak that is wide open and full of algae and a fish, with the algae pouring out into the lake. Yum yum.
November 6, 2025 at 9:41 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
Walking back from the shop and I see some movement on the pavement. It was this beautiful, not so wee beastie, on her back! I got her onto my hand and moved her to a much safer spot.

Araneus quadratus, 4 spot orb weaver

#Spiders #Arachnids #Invertebrates #LondonWildlife
A photograph of a spider on my hand. She has a very large, round orange abdomen, stripy brown and white legs. She is fairly large and chonky. And gorgeous.
November 5, 2025 at 12:00 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
Today’s BotD theme is any bird perched on a rock or one with a long beak. Finding a bird on a rock was difficult 🤣 but here’s one on a rock and a fairly long beak!

Black-crowned night heron (Auku’u), Honolulu Hawai’i

#Birds #BirdOfTheDay #BirdsOfHawaii #Herons
A photograph of a heron on a rock next to a pool of water. The bird has long legs, a creamy-white underbelly with brown and grey wing feather. Her head is dark grey, as is her long sturdy beak, and she has very deep orange eyes. She is standing on a rock, facing left and staring intently. There are some ferns growing behind her, and a small waterfall.
November 4, 2025 at 9:06 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
A sweet round robin for #HolidayRobin

Settings all wrong so image not the best, but he was too cute to reject :)) Photo from today, London

#Birds #LondonBirds
A photo of a robin on a branch. He is facing to the right, wondering what I’m up to. He’s mainly grey with a bright orange chest and face. He’s also quite round. And he could be a she. I have no idea.
November 4, 2025 at 5:23 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
Cormorant at the lake this morning. It had a great time diving into the water and slurping up stickleback fish

#Birds #LondonBirds #BirdPhotography
A photograph of a cormorant on the lake. The bird is greyish with a lighter beak, accented with a bit of orange. The water is a dark green and the bird is lighter against a darker background.
November 3, 2025 at 11:26 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
Today’s #HolidayRobin

I did try to get a photo today but alas, the robins didn’t want to pose :( So here’s one from April of this year

#Birds #ArtChallenge #LondonBirds #BirdPhotography
A photograph of a robin perched on a small branch. The branch is coming in from the left side towards the centre of the photo. The robin is just at the end. It has its back to the camera but turned its head to the right. It is mainly grey-brown with a bright orange chest and face. It has some scrumptious bugs in its beaks - flying ants maybe.
November 3, 2025 at 11:22 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
So, Rob got so excited about yesterday’s main contributions that he decided to go with… Pigeons! Alt is dunnocks. Here is a pair of woodpigeons making more woodpigeons (yeah, I’m the perv watching them through the window) & a dunnock (cuz they’re cute too)
#Birds #BirdOfTheDay #LondonBirds
A photograph shot through the window glass so it’s a bit hazy. A pair of woodpigeons is sitting on a branch very close to each other. The female seems to be whispering sweet nothings in her mate’s ear. They are both grey, a white patch is visible on the female’s neck. The female is now hunkered down and the male is moving towards her. The male is now on top of the female. I never did work out where they nested. Hopefully they were successful! A photograph of a small bird perched on a twig. It is facing to the left, against a light blue sky. The bird is mainly grey with brown wings.
November 3, 2025 at 11:12 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
BotD today is underrated, with alt of worst bird photo. So I’ll do one of each. First up is the feral pigeon. Not just any feral tho. This is a London feral. They are hard. 8 tins of G&Ts and still standing… The worst photo is of two blurbs. Skylarks. Honest.

#BirdOfTheDay #Birds #LondonBirds
A photo of a feral pigeon standing on a concrete ledge. It is dark grey with mottled wings and some green iridescence on its neck. Behind it are two empty boxes of gin and tonic tins. London feral pigeons party hard. A photograph of blurry trees in the background and two blurry birds - blurbs - twirling in the foreground.
November 2, 2025 at 11:32 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
Having a natter

#FestiveDailyRobin #RSPBRainham #LondonBirds #Birds
A photograph of two robins on a path. They are facing each other, as if in conversation.
November 2, 2025 at 8:41 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
And it’s November and @robcrank68.bsky.social has deemed it #FestiveDailyRobin time and so it shall be…

Digging into the archives from 2022 - this is Rocky the Robin from RSPB Rainham pondering the bounty of dried mealworms (yum) in the kiddo’s hand

#LondonBirds #UKBirding #Birds #Robins
A photograph of a robin standing on a path. It is looking down at an open hand that’s filled with dried mealworms. The robin is a grey-brown with a very red chest.
November 2, 2025 at 12:28 AM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
I’m a bit late, but yesterday’s BotD theme was grebes! We had our first pair of Little Grebes at the local lake this year and they had three successful broods :) Photos of: one of the parents getting food, Spikey (brood 1), sweetie (brood 2) and squee (3)

#BirdOfTheDay #Grebes #Birds #LondonBirds
A photo of a little grebe on a lake. Its wing feathers are dark brown, it has fluffy lighter brown feathers on its butt, a black head with red cheeks. It is holding something in its beak. We never did figure out what these were that they were pulling out of the lake. Later on, the grebes switched to stickleback fish. One of the adult grebes with a chick from the first brood. The chick is grey with a light orange beak. He was the only one of three to survive to be a juvenile. The others were eaten by grass snakes, herons or other predators. I named this guy Spikey. When the pair started their second brood, they kicked Spikey out of the lake and downstream. I hope he found a new home. Miss this guy a lot. A photo of a juvenile little grebe. She has browner wing feathers with white fluffy feathers at the back. Her head is starting to darken. I have no idea if she is a she. I named her sweetie. She was allowed to stay, although the adults had another brood after her. Like Spikey, she was the only one of her brood to survive. A photo of two little grebes, an adult and another chick. This is squee, from the last brood. Again the only survivor - nature is tough!
November 2, 2025 at 12:19 AM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
We spot this poster at a tube station. 16yo says, ‘They totally missed the op to use “Eye-conic”. Epic fail’

#LondonEye
November 1, 2025 at 4:10 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
Birds aren’t the only critters who like to dodge the camera - cow hiding in the grass, dhub (Spiny-Tailed Agama) trying to hide (Qatar), muntjac thinks she’s hiding well, and a purple hair streak butterfly that actually is hiding well
#Mammals #Invertebrates #Wildlife #Reptiles
A photograph of a grass meadow with two cows. One is standing towards the foreground, all black, and facing the second cow. All that is visible of the second cow is its white face and black ears. A phtotgraph of steps to a building in the desert. A large lizard is in the centre, scurrying to a hole under the foundation. A photograph of a funny-looking ‘deer’ - a muntjac, which is all brown except for a black strip on its forehead. It is peering at me through tall grass. A close up photograph of an oak leaf. In one of the curves, a bit of butterfly wing is visible.
October 31, 2025 at 11:44 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
Today’s BotD theme is birds hiding from the camera. Pretty familiar 🤣

Ring-neck parakeet playing peekaboo, jackdaw thinks no one can see him, blue tit trying to be one with the leaves and a snipe that thinks he’s invisible

#BirdOfTheDay #Birds #LondonBirds #UKBirding #BirdPhotography
A photograph of a bright green parakeet poking its head out of a tree trunk. A photograph of another tree trunk. There is a small hole in the middle and a jackdaw’s head is just visible in the hole. A photograph of a blue tit nestled on the foliage of a branch. The branch sticks out from the left hand side, the background is blurred. The bird has a yellow belly and a white head with black stripes. A photograph is some broken up reed stems. In the centre is a small bird with a long beak and mottled brown feathers. Blending nicely against the brown reeds.
October 31, 2025 at 11:44 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
Today’s BotD theme is birds at odd angles. That’s pretty much always, innit? Today’s choices: tufted trying out his water dance moves, headless woodpigeon, wren wannabe robin and a crow coming in for a landing
#BirdOfTheDay #LondonBirds #UKBirding
A photograph of a male tufted duck on the lake. His underbelly is white, rest is black and he has very orange eyes. He is contorted, mid-bath. So his belly is up, a leg is jutting out in front, and he is peering through his feet at the camera. A photograph of a woodpigeon in a tree. It is a grey bird, with darker grey wings. It is perched on a thin branch - not sure how it managed that! Its wings are down as is its tail. And. Well. Its head is missing! Twisted behind so it can get a good back scratch in! A photograph of a robin on a branch. She has grey-brown wings, a red chest and lighter undersides. She is stretching forwards and her tail is poking straight up. What can’t be seen here is the male. They were courting. A photograph of a crow coming in for a landing on some cedar. This photo was shot through my window so a bit hazy. The crow is all black. Its feet are sticking out front, its wings curved and up.
October 30, 2025 at 7:41 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
BotD is all about gulls (but you can’t post them again for a whole week!), alt is funny (alt alt is funny gulls?). Screaming herring, goofy BH, sleepy herrings and a headless herring

#BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Gulls #LondonBirds #UKBirding
A photograph of a juvenile herring gull. It was screaming for food - its mama was nearby, trying her best to ignore it. It is on a wall, on the right hand side of the frame, facing to the left. It is hunched down, its beak wide open. Its feathers are mottled brown and white. A photograph of a black-headed gull perched on a wooden fence next to the Thames. It is standing sideways, head turned towards the camera as if to say, ‘What do you want?’ Its body is white, wings are grey with black tips. A photograph of two herring gulls snoozing on a float in a pond. The float is blue. The birds are white with grey wings, tipped with black and white feathers. One is sitting, with head tucked into its wings. The other one is right next to it, standing on one leg, head also tucked into its wings. A photograph of 4 birds on the water. There is a coot or moorhen in the foreground. In the background are two gulls, a herring gull and a lesser black backed (I think). In the middle is a juvenile herring gull. Its wings are stretched out, its head is in the water.
October 29, 2025 at 10:48 PM
ankemarsh.bsky.social
It’s international cat day!
How it started. How it’s going…

#InternationalCatDay #Cats
A black and white kitten is sitting on top of a woollen blanket on the back of the sofa. Her ears are big! The same cat, a different sofa. She’s about 9 years older now. Her ears are still big and didn’t quite fit in the frame of this photo!
October 29, 2025 at 8:50 PM